Columns

After a hard day’s work, you arrive home eager to enjoy a meal on your deck or patio, only to look over and see your neighbors staring right back at you. Small lots, heavy traffic and loud neighbors can take the joy out of your backyard. There are plenty of steps you can take to make your outdoor living space more private and relaxing. But first things first: Always check with your village or homeowners association about restrictions on material and height. A wooden fence is the most obvious way to add privacy to your yard. They are also the …

I have written a number of columns about changes going on at Family History Centers, from film ordering changes to the Family Search web site. Today is no exception! I am writing this column at the Buffalo Grove Family History Center but these changes are happening worldwide and apply to all centers. This column deals exclusively with web sites you can ONLY access while visiting a Family History Center. The familysearch web site has changed significantly (and may need to be described in its own column) but when you are at the Family History Center, your home page is the …

Your credit is by far the most important ingredient of a mortgage. You receive three credit scores (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax) when you apply for a mortgage. If you do not receive at least a 640 on two of the three scores, you cannot apply for an FHA mortgage. A conventional mortgage usually requires an average credit score of 700, and 740 is the minimum required to get the best rate for a conventional loan. There has been a lot of negative noise lately about credit repair companies, both nationally and locally, and with good reason. Complaints abound about …

If Alzheimer’s is a journey, you need to be on the lookout for those first few steps. Have you ever had a “senior moment” or know someone who has? These are common and usually not a cause for worry. But do they happen a lot? Do you have trouble remembering facts about your own life — either from years past or from the past five minutes? Do you struggle or have you noticed a loved one struggling to answer what should be simple questions? Questions like: “What did you do for a living before you retired?” “What are your grandchildren’s …

Buds are on the trees, temperatures are on the rise, and spring cleaning is on the docket for many homeowners, especially those who are looking to put their properties on the market. Although many of us clean our homes from top to bottom, there are always those overlooked spots that could use a little extra love from us. Behind, under and on top of the refrigerator is where food particles and crumbs love to gather. Many refrigerators are on wheels, so it’s easy to slide them out and vacuum and wash beneath and behind them. A refrigerator’s drip pan is …

In my last column, I advocated that you need to tag the people in your photos, so you can find all photos of a particular person, place, or event easily. So I have spent the better part of the past month tagging photos in my collection. My photo collection contains everything I have taken with digital camera and cell phone camera, plus scans of my parents’ entire collection, including color slides dating back to 1952, polaroids, photos stuck in albums, loose boxes of prints, and some negatives from the late 1940s. Then there are the older photos found in various …

I have some good and bad news this month. One of our freebies is apparently no longer available. I have touted the virtues of www.familysearch.org for some time and the site is still one of the most valuable sites for free genealogy data that is indexed and searchable. However, due to contractual restrictions, they are no longer able to post the Chicago Birth, Marriage and Death certificates on FamilySearch. The Cook County Clerk is selling those certificates for $15 apiece and has withdrawn the ability for us to see the certificates directly on FamilySearch. However, please keep in mind that …

The Federal Housing Authority is raising its mortgage insurance premiums again! Once dedicated to helping families buy homes without the traditional down payment of 20 percent, the FHA has more than doubled its monthly fees, effectively pricing many potential homebuyers out of the market. Lenders typically only want to give loans for 80 percent of the value of the property. The FHA allows borrowers to put down as little as 3.5 percent, with the FHA agreeing to cover the difference should the borrower default. In exchange for this protection, the borrow purchases mortgage insurance that spreads the risk of default …

Alzheimer’s puts a strain on everyone, from sufferers to loved ones, but it doesn’t have to put your hard-earned savings at risk, too. Suffice it to say that it’s a hard disease. It changes your life and your relations with your loved ones. Your loved ones lose their memory and you lose your peace of mind. And if you’re unprepared, you can end up spending most of your assets before qualifying for Medicaid. Fortunately, there are ways help keep some of your life’s earnings from being spent on long-term care. The best thing would be to have long-term care insurance. …

Most people think of home buying as a pitched battle between buyers and sellers, with the person sitting across the table from you being your mortal enemy. Oftentimes, though, the real enemy in a real estate transaction is yourself. When it comes to buying a house, you need to heed the old maxim, “He (or she) who hesitates is lost.” Buyers can hurt themselves either by hesitating to make an offer, or by not responding to lender deadlines and contract contingencies in a timely manner. Hesitating can open the door to competition and bidding war. On the flip side, sellers …